The many people you meet in heaven
by Anime-Goth-Girl-13
Summary: Lee is dead, but moving on won't be easy on him. First, he will have to face everyone that died during this mess. From fallen friends to killed foes. Lee just can't get a break, can he? First chapter is only a teaser/ Intro, chapter will get longer. Rated T for minor gore and language. Genre may change.
1. The cop and the journey

**Please review! I don't own the walking dead the game.  
**

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The cop and the journey

Lee Everett was dead, That was for certain.  
He remembered everything that happened clearly, even the littlest details.  
The glistening of tears in Clem's eyes, the cold hard wall he was leaning against, the sound of the safety on the gun. And then it was done, it all ended.  
He didn't really know what he had expected to happen after this mess, but it certainly was not this.  
He was still lying on something hard, but this time fully flat.  
He felt better than he had in ages, or at least before the bite, like he was not sick anymore at all. He felt clean.  
It was easier to sit up than he had expected. The room he was in now looked nothing like the dirty garage he was in just minutes before.  
In fact it was completely empty and white, maybe not even a room at all.

"Well, I reckon you didn't do it then." A voice sounded from behind him.  
It was vaguely familiar to Lee, especially saying that particular line.  
The answer came by itself: "Why do you say that?"  
Lee turned around and came face to face with the police officer that had been driving him off to a life sentence months ago.

"Well, this is it, son. The gates of heaven and pit of hell, or whatever you want to call it… Aren't you supposed to say you didn't commit all those sins. That you're a good guy."

Lee looked down. "I'm not." He said solemnly.  
The police officer crossed his arms, something warm shined through his brown eyes.  
He had liked Lee from the beginning, for what little it was worth.

"You're not going to hell or anything, if that's what you're thinking." He looked pleased to be able to announce this.  
"There are just something's you have to do first. You'll have to pass by every person that died during those months. The ones you befriended, as well as the once you killed. What can I say, it's ironic humor or something."

Lee felt dumbstruck. This was something out of the movies. Though for a long time he had thought Zombies were that too.  
"Why me?" he asked.  
"Cause you can't just pass on feeling like that… incomplete. Neither can the others, their stuck until you finish this. You were always the glue that kept that broken little group of yours together."

"And what then… after I _finish _this, what happens."

The police officer laughed, it sounded hollow.  
"Then you get your happily ever after. Or at least something like that. Your live is over, but you can still be happy up here…"  
Lee didn't know what to feel. He missed his friends, he missed Clementine, He missed teaching in a school, coming home to an empty house when his wife was not there yet again.  
It was screwed up, but if this was real, and he doubted it was some warped dream, then he should do this, at least for the others.  
"Okay… I can do this." He said more to himself then the officer.  
"Close your eyes then." The officer seemed quiet impatient now.  
Lee did as he was told, not knowing what to expect.  
He felt himself being whisked away.  
The last thing he heard were the officer's words: "good luck son…"


	2. The son and the wheat field

The son and the wheat field

When Lee opened his eyes, he was standing at the edge of a wheat field. Golden stretched on for miles, as far as the eye could see.  
"What is this?" he murmured.

"My little piece of heaven." Answered a voice behind him.  
Lee turned to see the presumed edge was actually a small clearing, complete with tree trunk.  
There sat Shawn, the son he hadn't saved…. Or couldn't.

"Looks more like a grain field to me." Lee walked up to the much younger man.  
He looked good, normal. Not all bloodied as Lee had last seen him just before Hershel send them away.

"Wheat." Shawn corrected him. "There was one behind the farm. I used to play there when I was little." His green-gray ayes stared towards it nostalgically.

"But at least I'm not stuck here like your friends are."  
Lee raised an eyebrow. This again. He wasn't even sure if this was really happening. Maybe the fever had him hallucinating.  
But that was just wishful thinking. Clementine had shot him. He knew that.

"Why are you here then?" he asked.

Shawn laughed, it sounded amused and hollow at the same time.  
"Because I changed your live." He simply said.

Lee was now sitting next to him, watching the wind rustle through the wheat.  
Silence rested between them, Lee was uncertain what to do about it. What could he say tot his man?  
It was Shawn who broke it first.

"Do you feel guilty?" he asked. The question seemed so innocent, but it made Lee gulp.

"Of course…" He answered. He could see it all happening again now. He had meant to help them both.

Shawn to his left; his legs were trapped underneath the tractor, walkers were up against the fences with hands pushing through the holes he was just trying to fix.  
On his right was Duck, almost toppling from the other side of the tractor by the force the zombies were pulling him.  
Subconsciously Lee had known he had a choice before him that would never please everyone.  
Save one son, destroy a fathers live.  
It wasn't like in the movies. No slow-motion, not even a real choice, just instinct.  
So Lee had darted to his right. It just made sense in the moment.  
Duck was just a kid.  
By the time Kenny had helped him and Hershel had returned with his gun, it was already too late.  
It was the first real victim the walkers had made in Lee's eyes and he had spent many nights contemplating if he should have done it differently.  
Would it have mattered, would it have been worth it?

"Don't." Shawn's voice snapped Lee back to _reality.  
_"Don't feel guilty. Don't blame yourself for my death."  
Shawn rustled his hair in a nervous manner.  
It could be a habit he had always possessed, but lee hadn't known him long enough for such familiarities.

"I know now that it couldn't have been avoided. And I think you did the right thing."  
A certain feeling washed over Lee at this point.  
Relief over something he hadn't noticed bothered him that much in the first place.

"Well, I'm glad that's of my chest." Shawn sighed, sounding every bit relieved that Lee felt.

"I think you should go now. There is much more up ahead." The boy concluded.  
Lee nodded, placed his hand on Shawn's shoulder for a moment and then closed his eyes.  
And immediately the son and the wheat field were gone.


	3. The geek and the crush

**Sorry if you got multiple updates about this chapter, had some trouble uploading it** ^^' **I also changed the titles inside the other chapters.  
Also, thanks to my brother/ New beta-reader, I got at least 99% typing errors out of this and all previous/upcoming chapters.  
**

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Chapter 3: The geek and the crush

If there ever was anything Lee expected heaven to look like it wasn't this.  
It was small, almost cramped, and dark. It smelled like fast food yet not too overwhelming.  
The only light in the room seemed to come from up ahead. A mechanical, green-tinted light from a large screen standing on a desk.  
The desk itself was littered with various things Lee couldn't even begin to think what they were used for.. he wasn't really technical.  
But he knew who was, and that person was sitting on a desk chair before the computer.  
The chair slowly turned around, as in some old detective movie, and to complete the picture, there was Doug, arms crossed.

"Mister Everett, I've been expecting you." He said in a casual tone, then busted out laughing at Lee's shocked expression.  
Lee shook his head and crossed his arm as well.

"Don't joke around like that, Doug." He said but there was no anger in his voice.  
It all felt so weird, like seeing an old friend again. But it was exactly that.  
Doug and Lee hadn't known each other long, maybe only a couple of hours, but an apocalypse does that.

"Is this really your little piece of heaven." Lee asked, examining the place once more.  
The desk was stacked with various video games as well as things to tinker with. He could understand how Doug would think it was heaven, but it seemed weird to him.

"I told you I was kind of a geek." The IT technician said. "It's getting kind of lonely though, so I'm glad I'm almost out of here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy you… you know.. died and all. But…"  
he was stuttering a bit, trying to find his words and Lee raised a hand.

"It's okay." Lee was a bit relieved Doug wasn't angry with him, for what happened back at the pharmacy.  
Just like with Duck and Shawn, it had been less of a decision than instinct. Carley was a better shot, she was a woman, she had saved his ass multiple times already. It made sense.  
On the other hand, if Doug hadn't been there, Carley would have died before even reaching the pharmacy.

"I never got to thank you." The man said as he stood up from his chair, obscuring the light with his frame, making the room even darker.

"Thank me for what?" Lee knew the answer already.

"For saving her. I know how it turned out in the end, and I was really angry. But at least she had a chance. I don't know what I would have done had you saved me and she hadn't made it."

"You know she felt guilty too, right?" Lee asked. He remembered how Carley had asked him how he did it. Make these kind of choices. They had both needed him, just like she had said.

"She'll get over it." Doug laughed, but it was bitter. "You remember what I told you by the gate? That I really liked her. It's what I was trying to say just before it happened too. While we were holding the door closed."

Lee nodded, of course he remembered. "You still have your chance, once I'm done here. She likes you too." He said.

But Doug shook his head and smiled. "I don't think that's a good idea. I think she got over that though. More than 3 months passed after my death and…. I know how you feel about her, Lee. How she feels about you. I don't think it would have worked out anyway."

He shrugged a bit and in the dark Lee could barely make out the sad smile that lingered on Doug's face for just a second.  
He was actually very relieved Doug had said that. It was all true and it could have become very awkward if they would really all be together again. Lee was actually looking forward to seeing Carley again, it had been too long.

"Now go on and hurry up. I shouldn't keep you." Doug said. He seemed a bit anxious to get it over with.  
Lee stuck out his hand, smiling. "It was good to see you again."  
"Yup.. won't be so long this time." Doug answered, taking the hand and shaking it firmly.

Lee closed his eyes. He hadn't been afraid Doug would be angry with him over abandoning him in the pharmacy. He was scared Doug hated him for liking Carley, after the technician had confessed his love to her in confidence.  
Now that he was sure Doug didn't mind, Lee was certain what the first things was going to say to her.

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**Please review! I'll love you forever and will give you free cookies. ^^**


	4. The pilot and the plane

**IMPORTANT**: I am NOT abandoning this story, in case anyone was thinking that. I am just having exams (Shouldn't even been updating this xp) and will have for another week or so. Sorry for any inconvenience. I'll write twice as fast once they're over.

**Replies to reviews: **I want to thank everybody that reviewed, can't describe how much I appreciate the kind words and compliments!

** Mattardis**: whoops, now that you mention it, I don't really know if Larry died before or after Mark. Sorry to disappoint you, he'll be up next though.  
** HarryPotterTwin: **Thanks for the review. I can't do Carley next though, since I'm going in order of deaths xp she'll get her turn though.  
** Mermaid Ninja: **I'm not sure if I'll do Lee's family. I would be forced to make up half their characters since you know almost next to nothing about them. the St. John family will definitely be in here,though!  
** RosaRubra: **Your review made me laugh. you can have as many cookies as you want!

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The pilot and the plane:

As dark and muffy as the last place had been, as bright and airy was this one. The area seemed vaguely familiar to Lee, but he couldn't put his finger on why.  
It was a large area of flat ground. Lanes of it were asphalted, but too wide to be roads, though they had the white stripes.  
In the far corner he could see several dark buildings. Only then did it occur to Lee why he knew this place. He had been here already.  
Only months before, when he hadn't really had the time to go sightseeing in an overrun Robbins airforce base.  
Here, he and his group had encountered Mark, who had saved them from starvation…. At least temporarily. Ironically, it was exactly that which later had driven their crew to the dairy.

"And then he almost saved us from starvation a second time…" Lee hadn't realized he had said that out loud, a bad habit, until a voice behind him answered.  
"You know, that's not funny."  
Lee turned and there stood, yes stood, Mark. Right on his both legs. The thought of Mark lying on the bathroom floor covered in blood and missing both his limbs, made Lee's stomach churn. Especially because he knew where they ended up. And the mere thought of Clementine almost eating it filled him with anger. But he had stopped her, just in time.

"You want to see something cool?" Mark suddenly said, already heading for green, half-circle shaped buildings behind him.  
Lee followed him over.  
He hadn't noticed until just now how all the places he had already been to during his _journey _seemed to vibrate with good energy. Like he could feel the soul of the people he visited. This only made Lee more nervous of what he knew was to come.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a hand hitting metal 2 times.  
The buildings were obviously garages for something, and that something turned out to be a plane. A military plane no less.

"Here she is. Can you imagine I used to fly her. Seems like ages ago." Mark said, looking proudly at the airplane. Lee realized, with a ping of guilt, that he never DID ask what exactly Mark's job had been on the airforce base.  
"I thought you weren't allowed to fly it with bad eyesight?" he asked instead.

"Lee, Lee, Lee" the pilot shook his head disapprovingly. "First of all, that's the navy. Second, a plane is never an it. It's a 'she', like a ship." He was rubbing his hand on the spot where he hit it before. "But most importantly, This isn't just some plane, She's a Lockheed U-2."

"Which means?"  
"Which means, that this isn't the kind of plane you take on a vacation to Hawaii."  
Mark said.  
He then proceeded to explain some of the more technical issues, which passed Lee by completely.  
Back in the old days, he used to know tons about military planes throughout history. All of that was gone now, forced out by the survival instinct developed during the epidemic.

"Are you alright?" Mark suddenly asked. Lee hadn't expected that of all questions. Wasn't he here to redeem Mark's feelings? Typically him to be more concerned for others.  
But now that Lee though about it, there was something that bugged him. It had, ever since what happened at the St. John. Dairy. Now was as good a time as any to get it of his chest.

"Do you think we could have avoided it, Mark? Weren't there any signs…" It was eating him up inside for quite some time after what happened. Could they have foreseen in?  
But Mark reacted calmly.

"Hunger can cloud the judgment as good as any drug can, Lee. And yes, maybe there were signs, but we decided to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in our guts to still the empty one in our stomachs. And I'm still certain it was the right decision…. We would have all died otherwise."

Lee shook his head angrily. "We don't know that for sure! We took a risk and paid a price, and it was partly my fault. How could we have been so blind?"

"Because we wanted to be." Mark interrupted him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We wanted… Needed hope so badly. We would have looked for it anywhere."

Somewhere, Lee knew Mark was right. It were desperate times, and the dairy had seemed like a gift sent from heaven.

"You know you're gonna have to face them too right? You are strong, Lee, you have already proven that. If there is anyone that can do this, It is you. But you have to stop blaming yourself for every horrible thing happening because of the outbreak."

Lee nodded once. Maybe that was what this was all about. Accepting defeat.  
"Well, you better get going then. I'm waiting too you know." Mark adjusted his glasses and gave Lee a firm handshake. Then the airforce base was gone.

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**Larry up next. Phew... still everlasting love for anyone that reviews. and this time you get a free hot coco with it! ^^**


	5. The wrath and the grave

**A/N:** _It took me forever to upload_.. I know... First there was exams, than holidays, sickness, school, sickness, more school. It was a hell of a month :/ On the bright side, The next updates will come much faster! I'm also thinking of starting another TWD fanfic, but what the concept is will stay a secret a while ;)

I want to thank all the reviewers and favorite/followers. I would have never dream of getting that many people to read my story! I love you all.

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**The wrath and the grave:**

Maybe if Lee hadn't been in such a weird predicament to begin with, he would be surprised.  
There is something unreal in seeing a graveyard in heaven, where you're already dead.  
And he really hoped he couldn't die again, the first time was miserable enough, thank you…

He gulped at the thought. The whole affair had kind of distracted him from the blaring truth that he was indeed dead. He had left Clementine behind in a world of despair. He had failed at keeping her safe, from seeing the sight of her turned parents.  
Hopefully he had at least thought her enough to save herself out there.

The graveyard seemed peaceful enough. The trees had changed color already, displaying amber-maroon hues and losing their leaves.  
Wind was swaying lightly, breaking the silence ever so softly.  
If it wasn't for the large person standing up ahead, Lee would even maybe feel comfortable.  
If it wasn't for the fact that barely the thought of him left Lee with an almost painful aching in his chest… Which was quite ironic.

All encounters so far had at least helped make Lee feel a bit better, as much as that seemed unlikely.  
He just knew this wasn't going to go smooth in the least.  
and briefly it flickered through his mind that he may discover what it's like to die a second time after all.  
Or suffer for all eternity, whatever Larry saw fit.

Cause such a bulky figure was unmistakable. Ex-military, grumpy as hell and the last straw that a helpless daughter could hold onto in all the madness.  
Lee was still convinced that his death was what had caused Lilly to ultimately snap.  
To become a dictator, to be unreasonable and….. shoot Carly.  
And somewhere in the back of his mind there was a little voice saying that was partially his fault.  
He was right there, when the 'shit went down', so to say.  
And in this case the 'shit' took the form of a giant salt lick ending the life of an already failing heart.  
Lee hadn't done anything. Contrary: he had helped.  
it had seemed the right choice.  
Reasonably speaking it still was: it's medically proven that once somebody has a first heart attack, combined with the pre-existing condition, there was no way Larry would have made it.  
He was simply too unstable.

Not reasonably speaking however, Lee could only imagine what he would have done had Clem died somewhere in all this… killed by teammates because she didn't get the benefit of the doubt.  
As he had done to Larry.  
And if Larry, just as Mark, knew what all went down after and surrounding his death… Lee was in for real hell, no matter where he was.  
For a moment he mused it could be infinitely better for his health to just stay put, but things wouldn't be solved that way and more than anything did Lee want to set things right.  
Whatever the cost.

Slowly he made his way across the abandoned graveyard. Dead leaves crunching as he went, sending small volts of nervousness up his spine.  
Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that none of the graves had names on them:  
Bare messengers of death.

Lee was close now, Larry was just 3 feet away.  
It was impossible that he hadn't heard Lee yet, or maybe he was ignoring him?

The grave in front of the ex-military was engraved, unlike the others.  
It read a woman name, same last name as Lilly and him. Deceased at the young age of 32.  
Lee knew this had to be Lilly's mother and thus Larry's wife, who's wedding ring he had kept in his pocket until the very end.

Lee had once heard of an expression; 'never allow the monster a heart.' He felt guilty even thinking about this now, but somehow, it rang true.  
During times when collecting food was a near death sentence, human meat was as good as any other and trusting someone was like giving them a knife and turning your back. It was easy then to think of Larry as an anti-social, racist, selfish asshole.

But in reality, hadn't he been acting like any father would in such a situation?  
Hell, how Lee would when Clementine was concerned.  
He may not have shown it any normal way, but it was the fear of losing all that he had left that drove him to say and do stuff Lee felt offended by at the time.  
The same fear that later became a reality for Lily… because of them.  
By the time all of these thoughts had flashed through Lee's mind, which only took a second in reality, Larry had turned to him. And in his eyes was something that left Lee just a tad colder on the inside.

There was no anger, no hate, no accusatory look telling Lee he had 3 second to run away before certain death. There was a small amount of sadness, clouded by huge amounts of certainty.  
Lee could see Larry had cried.  
A while ago, yes. But the monster had his heart and Lee could not deny it any longer.

"You sure have guts to show up here." Larry said. It sounded weird, not murderous, not even angry. Just weird.  
"I didn't have a choice." Lee answered. Was he talking about his presence, or what happened back at the St. John dairy, he wasn't sure.

Suddenly Larry took a small step forward, crossing the small distance between them.  
Even though they were in an open space, Lee felt trapped by the man's gaze. The anger he had expected was there, but it was like it wasn't aimed at Lee specifically.

"Everybody has a choice. You had plenty! Still were did it get us?! Everyone's dead. Whatever your little mission exactly held, I don't care. But you failed! You couldn't even keep your girl save."  
The ex-military seemed to falter at that. Maybe he sensed the burning inside Lee, that was now surfacing.

"I did all I could." The latter said, though it sounded more like a lame excuse then a certainty.  
Larry smirked, and for some seconds, Lee could see all the hateful looks he got from him in the past all over again.  
"If you had, then why did my daughter leave you? Why did that woman kill herself? Why did you allow your group to fall apart?"

Lee felt something there. A gripping feeling of impotence. It had all happened, but was there anything he could have done about it? Mark and Shaun both said there wasn't.  
and that simple realization struck him fast and hard.  
"Because I DID ALL I COULD!" he burst out suddenly, not impressing Larry at all though.  
"I did all I could. I never asked to be the leader. I'm just a human. There was nothing more I could do!"

For a moment silence hung between them. Their faces were only inches apart after Lee's outburst.  
Then Larry grimaced.  
"Right…" he said, and somehow seemed pleased with himself. He took a step back and crossed his arms.  
"Don't get me wrong, I don't like you. I've never even trusted you. But even for you, there is no reason to drag yourself down with the thought that everything is your responsibility."

Larry took a sideways step and faced the grave of his late wife again, and with softest voice Lee had ever heard him utter he said: "After all, I couldn't keep our girl save either."

It was then that the monster wasn't a monster anymore. Just a human.  
Lee wanted to say more, he wasn't finished.  
But that wasn't his decision, as he felt himself move yet again.

In that last second, he caught a glimpse of a picture on top of the grave.  
A beautiful woman.  
And Lee felt like crying.

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**Thanks for reading. Remember: all reviewers get imaginary pogo sticks! ^^**


	6. The family and the diner

Chapter 6: The family and the dinner

Lee was just moving from one hellhole to another now.  
He was glad. He had never hated Larry. Yes, he had found him an asshole. More than that.  
But it took a lot to really get Lee to despise you. Sleeping with his wife was one such thing.

He knew what he did was wrong. But not even till today he regretted it. There were far more important things to regret. Things that happened after people started eating each other.  
And exactly that last thing was facing him now.  
If he could puke, he certainly would. But somehow something prevented him from doing so, even if the sight was gruesome enough.

He was sitting at the head of a long table. Far longer than the real table had been back at the dairy. It was set for a nice diner, salt and pepper, plates, cutlery. Everything was neatly arranged.  
Except for the food.  
There was blood. So much blood everywhere, the sight alone was enough to make Lee sick.  
Not to mention the smell.  
There were random pieces of meat laying on the plates and in giant pots. Lee didn't need to see the skin on them to determine it was human meat.  
What else could it be considering where he was? He was nowhere.  
The rest of the room was one black void. There existed nothing outside of this nightmarish dinner table. Except for them of course.

On the exact opposite side of the table were 3 people. Lee knew them. He had murdered one of them, deliberately caused the death of the other and left the last one to be eaten alive.  
'I am the cause of their deaths.' Lee knew, looking at the table grimily. 'And this was the reason why I had to.'

The St. John family continued their dinner undisturbed, though they had undoubtedly spotted Lee already.  
He felt like an intruder, he wasn't supposed to be here.  
He had done everything he could to keep his group from becoming something like this.

"Did it never cross your mind, that it was too perfect to be true?"  
Andy's voice was slow, like there was something fragile in the air that should not be broken.  
"After seeing everything you had. Devastation, betrayal, cruelties. Did you truly think you had found a safe haven were you could erase those things. "

"Was it not the lord who said, 'eat whatever is sold on the meat market, without ground of conscience'?"  
This time it was Brenda St. Johns voice which spoke up, quoting the bible.  
Lee knew, he had once been a god-fearing man. Long before any of this happened.

"What you did was not the same." Lee decided. "That was not meat. It were humans, it was cannibalism."  
"That was survival!"  
"It was MURDER!"

Danny's hand came crashing down on the table with a heavy thud. The previous caution was gone, there was now a tense feeling in the air left.

"Look me in the eyes." Danny said  
So Lee did, and with shock he observed the pool of blood that had formed on Danny' chest. On the same place were Lee had struck him with a pitchfork.  
He was as much a murderer as the people opposite him, yet he could not compare himself with them.  
Danny continued.  
"Look me in the eye, and tell me without faltering, that you would have that little girl of yours waste away from hunger, knowing there was perfectly fine flesh to feed her with, because it was against your morals."

Lee gulped, a most disturbing image struck him.  
Clementine, lying on the ground, thinner than any child should ever be. It reminded him of the boy in the attic. The one he himself had killed and buried next to a rotted dog.

But an even more disturbing answer formed in his mind. Of course he would not.  
He may deny it on the outside as much as he wanted. Fool himself, and everyone around him that he could stay perfectly human in a world of inhuman intent.  
But deep inside, would he let himself die, knowing he could prevent it by killing, something he had done plenty from the start of the infection?  
So he pulled the only card he had left to defend his decision:  
"This was not 'perfectly fine flesh.' These people could have lived, Mark could have lived, if it wasn't for you…"

That was the difference between them, Lee realized. He had known Mark. He had been his friend. But what if it had been a total stranger, as Mark had been to the St. Johns. What if there were no feelings of companionship between them.  
Would Lee still object? Would he still be 'human' enough to stop himself?  
If he would even kill Veron for wanting to take Clementine away from him, would he not kill to feed her?

But instead of giving in to these thoughts, he just stood up and looked the 3 people opposite him in the eyes.  
It just clicked in Lee's mind.  
He didn't have to give this people any justification, nor for what happened on the farm, nor anything he had done.  
"If not for you, we may have starved. If not for us, you may have continued living in 'piece'. But what happened, happened. There is no way back, I know that better than anyone. I'm done wasting my time with people who see no reason."  
So he turned and walked away into the darkness.


	7. The love and the lost oppertunities

**A/N: I'm aware some of you are about to kill me for delaying the update for ages. xp I'm really sorry though, I'm supposed to graduate high school next week, after which I'll try to enroll in uni. Let's just say things have been busy as hell.**

**Hope you can forgive me. Every reviewer gets a free digital bagel of happiness!**

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Chapter 7: The love and the lost opportunities.

Lee couldn't believe his relief as the next place he was send to felt a lot more inviting then the last two. Granted, being dead would never sit as comfortably as life, he didn't feel like everyone was out for his skin anymore.  
As if they even could.

He now found himself to be at some sort of TV set. And not the kind where they film action movies or romantic-comedies. Lee recognized this to be a news set. Not one he ever watched though.

There was the typical, large, half-circle shaped bureau. 2 stools set behind it, big and comfy looking. The back wall was made in dark blue and red colors and stated the WABE Atlanta News logo.  
Sports were hung high to accommodate the perfect lighting as the news anchors gave their little speech.

All of this seemed to pass Lee by however. He was far more preoccupied with the sole person in the room.  
Carley sat on the edge of the table, just some feet in front of him and god she looked….

The dirty jeans and pink sweater she had been wearing when Lee last saw her, were replaced with a black skirt that reached just above her knees and a white buttoned up blouse. Much like the outfit she had been wearing at the pharmacy, but without the obvious zombie aftermath look.  
Carley was tracing her hand idly over the desk, looking over her shoulders at the seats behind it.

"You know, I always promised myself I would make it there someday." She said, sounding almost bored, indicating the chairs.  
"…And here I am."

She looked up at him with the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. He closed the distance between them and stood before her, her bent knees touching his upper legs.

"I was always jealous of them sitting here, while I was out in the rain doing some report on a sheep festival…" She went on, ignoring the sudden close proximity.

Lee bent down, tracing one hand over Carley's arm, smelling the vague scent he had begun to accustom with her, even in the dire, unhygienic circumstances the motel had been in.

"I also promised myself I would someday tell my coworker John what an asshole he could be at times, but somehow I never got to that either." Her tone sounded too light for the situation. It made something inside Lee's stomach ache with regret and sadness.

Carley raised her head then, meeting dark brown eyes with her olive ones. They seemed to shine with the same emotions Lee felt tumbling in his guts, but also something more. Happiness?

"Just 2 days before everything happened, some guy I had a crush on, got himself a girlfriend." She stated, as if this was the perfect time to be discussing her love life.  
"I never got around to telling him how I felt, and I promised myself that if I ever met a guy I liked again, I would just grow some balls and tell him. Then people started eating each other and everything was one big mess and…."  
Finally she raised her left hand and lay it against Lee's cheek. It felt oddly warm. Out of place.  
"And then it happened again. Twice even. I never told him… and I never told you."

Anything Lee was planning on saying in response was drawn out as Carley straightened her back and brought her lips up to meet his. It felt unreal.  
Lee marvelled at the softness and leaned in, deepening the kiss slightly. If he was truly dead then he must have finally found heaven.

It was not a passionate kiss of desire or lust. Not a kiss that expected more to happen or clothes to be taken of. It was sweet and simple and warm and exactly like Carley herself.  
And it was what Lee had wondered about doing after some 2 months at the motor inn.

Why hadn't he done it? Nervousness, stress, too busy with surviving. But all excuses were wasted now anyway. This couldn't last... and maybe neither of them minded anymore, but they certainly both regretted.

After what seemed like forever but had in reality had only been some precious seconds, they both drew back and Lee could see that beautiful face again. And he said the only thing he could think of.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. It seemed so useless, an empty argument after the discussion was already over. A blow after the fight was long lost. But he felt it was enough.

Carley smiled again, god had he missed that. Her death had always been some kind of marker in Lee's life. The moment everything had gone to hell, again.

"I know you are." She said. "But you blame yourself too much. You think everything in this world is your responsibility, but that's not true. You made mistakes, Lee, But I still stand by my word. I don't think you're a bad man."

A sense of irony made itself known to Lee. Had it not been for this blasted apocalypse, he and Carley would have never met.  
Had it not been for this blasted apocalypse, they wouldn't have been torn apart either.  
He mused that in any other live, they may have been together. But not here… not now.

As if sensing his thoughts, Carley moved her hand back and laughed. "You should do something about your stubble you know… a three-day beard is cute, but this is just getting out of hand."

Lee raised an amused eyebrow at her and crossed his arms.  
"It's not like I really had time to shave lately."

Carley laughed again and raised to kiss him once more. It was even softer this time. A kiss of goodbye, a kiss that said she would miss him, a kiss that said they will meet again.


End file.
